Press Release
24 January 2007

The Nigerian government has announced that it will hold the first Nigerian International Outsourcing Conference in Abuja over 21-23 March as a platform to launch the country’s National Outsourcing Strategy. Following a year of research and preparation, the government has appointed the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as responsible for the execution of the national strategy.

NITDA has partnered with AITEC Africa, as the leader in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) conferences across the continent, to host the first International Outsourcing conference in Nigeria. One of the highlights of the conference will be the launching of the National Outsourcing Association. It will also be the first time that Nigeria will be officially positioning itself as an outsourcing destination to the rest of the world.

Over 180 bankers and technology experts participated in the African Banking Technology Conference in Nairobi over 5-8 February, which focussed on the effective use of technology to meet the growing demands of existing banking clients – and the untapped potential of the continent’s unbanked majority.

Over 30 African and international experts made conference and international presentations on a wide range of technology and business strategy topics, including:

·  ICT strategies in banking – lessons from recent experience
· Lessons from new ICT projects
· Strategies to bank the unbanked
· Specialised applications
· Integrating business, HR & ICT strategies
· Communication systems & strategies
· Service delivery infrastructure

Africa’s financial sector aspires to world-class systems and standards that match best practices in developed economies. But at the same time, they have to seek growth in the region’s vast majority of unbanked who require low-cost mass banking services. The effective application of IT and telecommunication solutions is essential for developing a profitable balance between these two sides of the banking market. World-class systems have to be carefully examined and assessed for their appropriateness to extend services to mass, low-income, mostly rural customers – instead of widening the divide between a banking system that serves an urban elite, delivering high-value services to a limited market, and the vast majority of the population that remains unbanked and therefore excluded from the formal economy.

AITEC Africa is hosting the first Wireless Broadband Forums in Nairobi and Lagos at the end of November and early December. Leading developers and suppliers of wireless technology are sending top experts to share knowledge with telecommunication operators, ISPs, network engineers and regulators in East and West Africa.

The East & West African Wireless Broadband Forums will provide a marketing and education platform to promote effective roll-out of wireless technology throughout Africa. The first Forum takes place at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi over 29 November – 1 December, to be followed by Wireless Broadband West Africa in Lagos over 4-6 December.

Press Release, 30 October 2006

Wireless technologies under spotlight in Nairobi and Lagos

AITEC Africa is hosting the first Wireless Broadband Forums in Nairobi and Lagos at the end of November and early December. Leading developers and suppliers of wireless technology are sending top experts to share knowledge with telecommunication operators, ISPs, network engineers and regulators in East and West Africa.

The East & West African Wireless Broadband Forums will provide a marketing and education platform to promote effective roll-out of wireless technology throughout Africa. The first Forum takes place at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi over 29 November – 1 December, to be followed by Wireless Broadband West Africa in Lagos over 4-6 December.

Wireless community networks increase economic growth

Paul Munnery, a UK-based expert in wireless data communications, offers a vision of wireless communities that could transform the way we live, work and play across Africa.

Cities, towns and communities across Africa have an opportunity to increase their economic growth far beyond normal expectations by providing their citizens and workers with a wireless community network.

Many African countries with strong or emerging e-economies understand there are many elements to making their country more competitive in a global marketplace. Dense urban cities are required to support greater population mobility and manage the burden of increasing growth of highways, city congestion and economic development.

smartBridges to give Showcase Presentation at AITEC's Wireless Broadband Africa November 7, 2006

smartBridges's Sales Director Adrian Wheeler will deliver the key presentation at the leading African ICT event organised by AITEC.

smartBridges, the leading provider of standards-based fixed outdoor wireless equipment will be at Wireless Broadband Africa where Adrian Wheeler, smartBridges' Sales Director for Europe & Africa, is to deliver the showcase presentation. The presentation, titled "Wireless Internet Solutions for the Growing African Market", will be one of the highlights of the conference and focuses on the role of wireless technology in solving Africa's communications needs.

PRESS RELEASE 30 October 2006

Wireless technologies under spotlight in Nairobi and Lagos

AITEC Africa is hosting the first Wireless Broadband Forums in Nairobi and Lagos at the end of November and early December. Leading developers and suppliers of wireless technology are sending top experts to share knowledge with telecommunication operators, ISPs, network engineers and regulators in East and West Africa.

The East & West African Wireless Broadband Forums will provide a marketing and education platform to promote effective roll-out of wireless technology throughout Africa. The first Forum takes place at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi over 29 November – 1 December, to be followed by Wireless Broadband West Africa in Lagos over 4-6 December.

Press Releass, 8 August 2006

Motorola has announced its lead sponsorship of the Wireless Broadband Africa Forums to be held in Nairobi and Lagos at the end of November and early December in response to the growing deployment of wireless systems across the continent.  QUALCOMM, leading developer of CDMA technology, is also supporting the event as a co-sponsor.

The East & West African Wireless Broadband Forums will provide a marketing and education platform to promote effective roll-out of the technology throughout Africa. These Forums follow the highly successful WiMAX & CDMA Forum held in Johannesburg in April 2006 (see http://new.aitecafrica.com/WiMAX_CDMA_Forum)

PRESS RELEASE, 12 August 2006

The first African BPO & Call Centre Conference will be held in Nairobi in September under the auspices of the Kenya Ministry of Information & Communications as a platform to promote the region’s emerging BPO industry. Organised by AITEC Africa, it will provide a forum for international investors and outsourcing companies to meet local operators and potential business partners.

Lead sponsors of the event are Telkom Kenya and Dimension Data East Africa. Announcing their sponsorship of the event, both organisations welcomed it as an opportunity to put East Africa on the international outsourcing map. “Telkom Kenya is committed to working with government to provide the necessary telecommunications infrastructure at competitive international prices that will boost Kenya’s BPO and call centre industry,” said Sammy Kirui, MD of Telkom Kenya.